English 102 Intermediate College Writing, Fall 2009—Section 19
Meets: Tuesday and Thursday 2:30p-3:45p
Instructor: Scott L. Rogers
Office: Humanities 319F
Office Phone: (502) 852-5919
Office Hours: T & Th. 1-2:30pm; or by appointment
Email:
Course Description
This is a course in critical reading, researching, and writing. You will learn how to ask good questions, how to find strong supporting materials, how to carefully consider these materials, and how to use them in complicated and interesting academic writing. You will also revise like you have never revised before. More than anything I want you to leave this class with skills that will be useful throughout your career at the University of Louisville (and beyond?). With that in mind, you will spend a lot of pursuing topics and genres related to your own areas of interests. Writing, however, will always be the central focus of this course. During class meetings we will work on asking difficult questions and developing critical frameworks for analyzing various aspects of the topics you choose. Expect to share your work often and to productively interact with the work of your classmates.
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Outcomes for English 102
Rhetorical Knowledge
By the end of English 102, your writing should:
· Demonstrate rhetorical purpose by creating a position relative to your research
· Analyze and satisfy the needs and expectations of an audience
· Demonstrate knowledge of genres employed in writing with research
· Provide supporting evidence from research sources
· Employ a tone consistent with purpose and audience
Critical Thinking and Reading
By the end of English 102, you should demonstrate the ability to produce writing that:
· Identifies rhetorical strategies and summarizes main ideas of outside sources
· Places sources in context with other research
· Represents and responds to multiple points of view in research
Processes
By the end of English 102, you should be able to:
· Identify a research question
· Develop a research strategy
· Identify and evaluate sources
· Use research sources to discover and focus a thesis
Conventions
By the end of English 102, your writing should demonstrate the ability to produce writing that:
· Integrates sources with one another and with own analysis
· Demonstrates control over conventions of format and presentation for different purposes and different audiences
· Demonstrates an understanding of the purposes and conventions of documentation
· Demonstrates awareness of multiple methods of citation
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Course Prerequisites
You should have already satisfied your English 101 requirement.
Required Text
Harris, Joseph. Re-Writing: How to Do Things with Texts. Logan: Utah State UP, 2006.
Lester, James D. and James D. Lester Jr. The Essential Guide: Research Writing Across the Disciplines. 4th edition. Pearson, 2008.
[I encourage you to find these books used whenever possible]
Other necessary texts will be available on our course Blackboard page
Grading
This course is based upon a 100-point scale:
Writing Assignment #1: 10
Writing Assignment #2: 10
Research Proposal: 10
Research Essay: 25
Public Project: 25
Reflective Essay: 10
Attendance/Participation: 10
Your final grade will be calculated on a percentage scale as follows:
§ A+: 100-98 A: 97-94 A-: 93-91
§ B+: 90-88B: 87-84B-: 83-81
§ C+: 80-78C: 77-74C-: 73-71
§ D+: 70-68D: 67-64 D-: 63-61
§ F: 60 and below
Portfolio
At the end of the course you will submit revised versions of you research proposal and research essay with your final public project. You will have plenty of opportunity to re-work these assignments in order receive the grade you want.
Participation and Attendance
In this class participation means many things, including: preparation (reading and writing assignments, Blackboard), participation in class discussion and blackboard posts, productive and thoughtful peer response, and investment in one-on-one or group conferences. We will be discussing (anonymous) student writing in class almost every day, I expect you to be both generous and critical—we will talk extensively about what this means.
In order for this class to function well, I need you to participate. In order for you to participate, you need to be present. It is part of your responsibility as a willing member of this academic community to come to class, to participate and to learn. If you must be absent, it is your responsibility (not mine) to inform yourself about what you missed and what you need to prepare for the next class session (there may be assignments or other changes not reflected on the syllabus). You may miss four class meetings with no penalty (that’s two full weeks of class). After the fourth absence I will reduce your final grade by 3 points for each day you are absent.
Late and Incomplete Papers
I do not accept late papers. If you have some circumstance that prevents your submitting work on time, you should discuss that with me in advance.
Late Portfolios will not be accepted. No Exceptions.
Plagiarism
The University defines plagiarism as "representing the words or ideas of someone else as one's own in any academic exercise." Thus, all writing you do for this course must be your own and must be exclusively for this course, unless the instructor stipulates differently. Please pay special attention to the quotes, paraphrases, and documentation practices you use in your papers. If you have any questions about plagiarism, please ask your instructor. If you plagiarize, your instructor reserves the right to grant you a failure for the course and your case may be reported to the College of Arts and Sciences.
For additional information concerning plagiarism, please consult the undergraduate catalog and/or consult a writing specialist in the Writing Center on the third floor of the library.
General Education Statement
This course fulfills a General Education Written Communication Requirement. It focuses on writing as a process of thinking as well as a mode of expression and communication. Writing will be presented as an integral aspect of thinking and learning and will therefore be a pervasive activity in this class.
Disabilities Access
Students who have a disability or condition which may impair their ability to complete assignments or otherwise satisfy course criteria are encouraged to meet with instructor to identify, discuss and document any feasible instructional modifications or accommodations. Please inform instructor about circumstances no later than the second week of semester or as soon as possible after a disability or condition is diagnosed, whichever occurs earliest. For information and auxiliary assistance, contact the Disabilities Resource Center.
Grievance Procedure
Students who have questions or concerns about their grades, the class, or an assignment are encouraged to see their instructor as soon as possible. If not satisfied with that discussion, students may see an assistant director of composition, HM 319F, 852-5919.
Essay Format
All work must be typewritten (unless otherwise noted) in a recognized academic format- MLA, APA, Chicago, etc. I will teach MLA in this class but you may use any style that is most comfortable or which you will be required to use in your larger academic career.
In general, I expect typewritten work to be double spaced, 12-point standard font (for example, Times New Roman font), and standard margins (1 inch top and bottom, 1.25 inches left and right). Please type your name and the date in the upper right hand corner of all assignments. All printing should be done in black and white on 8½x11 sized paper, stapled together in the upper left hand corner. You do not need to include cover sheets or to turn in your work in folders.
The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus in order to address scheduling conflicts and/or class needs.
Daily Schedule
Note* subject to change on my whim or fancy
Day/Topic / Assignments [Note* assignments are due on the day listed]Tuesday Aug. 25 / Syllabus and Course Expectations
Thursday Aug. 27 / Read: Harris’ Introduction; Lester and Lester pgs. 1-4
Tuesday Sept. 1 / Read: Harris Chapter 1 Coming to Terms; Lester and Lester 58-63
Write: Blackboard Blog post (at least 250 words)
Thursday Sept. 3 / Read: Mary Louise Pratt “Arts of the Contact Zone” (Blackboard)
Writing Assignment #1 is due
Tuesday Sept. 8 / Read: Harris Chapter 2 Forwarding
Write: Blackboard Blog Post (at least 250 words)
Thursday Sept. 10 / Print and Read: Samples of Assignment #1 from Blackboard
Tuesday Sept. 15 / Read: Harris Chapter 3 Countering
Write: Blackboard Blog Post (at least 250 words)
Thursday Sept. 17 / Writing Assignment #2 is due
Tuesday Sept. 22 / Read: Harris Chapter 5 Revising
Write: Blackboard Blog Post (at least 250 words)—prompt TBD
Thursday Sept. 24 / Conferences—No Class Meeting
Tuesday Sept. 29 / Read: John Berger “Ways of Seeing” (Blackboard)
Print and Read: Student responses to Berger
Thursday Oct. 1 / Read: Paul Gilroy “Could You Be Loved? Bob Marley, anti-politics, and universal sufferation” (Blackboard)
Print and Read: Student responses to Gilroy
Tuesday Oct. 6 / Begin Research Projects—What kinds of questions should I be asking???
Thursday Oct. 8 / Read: Lester and Lester pgs. 8-16, 47-48, chapter 6 (Finding and Evaluating Sources)
Write: Blackboard Blog Post—prompt TBD
Tuesday Oct. 13 / Mid-Term Break
Thursday Oct. 15 / Read: Lester and Lester chapter 4 (Field Research), chapter 8 (Writing Effective Notes)
Print and Read: Sample Research Proposals from Blackboard
Tuesday Oct. 20 / Research Proposal is due (350-500 words)—Peer Workshop in Class (bring 3 copies)
Thursday Oct. 22 / Read: Harris Chapter 4 Taking an Approach; Lester and Lester Chapter 9 (Drafting in an Academic Style)
Write: Blackboard Blog Post—prompt TBD
Tuesday Oct. 27 / Library Research—Ekstrom W102
Thursday Oct. 29 / Draft of Research Paper is due (4-6 pages by this point)—Peer Workshop in Class (bring 3 copies)
Tuesday Nov. 3 / Conferences—No Class Meeting
Thursday Nov. 5 / Print and Read: Student Essay Drafts from Blackboard
Tuesday Nov. 10 / Research Essay is due (8-10 pages)
Thursday Nov. 12 / Print and Read: sample public project #1
Tuesday Nov. 17 / Print and Read: Sample public project #2
Thursday Nov. 19 / Draft of Public Project is due—Peer Workshop in Class (bring 3 copies)
Tuesday Nov. 24 / Conferences—No Class Meeting
Thursday Nov. 26 / Thanksgiving Break
Tuesday Dec. 1 / TBD
Thursday Dec. 3 / Projects/Portfolios/Reflective Essays Due
Tuesday Dec. 8 / Reading Day-No Class
Thursday Dec. 10 / Pick Up your work
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